


Lithe

by BadRomantic



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Add tags as I go, Animal Abuse Mention, Animal trophies, BAMF Newt Scamander, Chemist au, FBI agent Percival Graves, FBI agent Tina Goldstein, Grindelwald is a horrible flirt, M/M, Mercenary Newt Scamander, Newt Scamander is a chemist, Newt Scamander is a tough boy, Newt's not sorry, Not explicit animal abuse, Not scary slow tho, POV switch, Percival Graves is really gay, Percival is tough, Slow Burn, Tina Goldstein is just a big ol grump and that's the way it should be, if you can even call it flirting, like a genuine 'what the fuck' kinda flirt guy, literal actor Newt Scamander, newt is ANXIOUS, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-23 22:09:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14942258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadRomantic/pseuds/BadRomantic
Summary: Newton never meant to become some type of animal crusader. It was a pure accident.Handcuffing Agent Graves to his own car seat, however, was not. But hey, when you’re bending laws to save innocent creatures... some things just wont go as planned.





	1. Chapter 1

Newton never meant to become some type of animal crusader. At first, he was satisfied with just having his newt (wonderful creatures, he swears by it) Pickett. And Titus. And Finn- Oh, and Poppy and Marlow! And _Tom!_ He wouldn’t dare forget Tom. They all were enough of a family for him to be happy. But then he’d ended up finding more, like Norris the Magpie and a couple of stray, malnourished wolves- all wonderful creatures he would rather not bring attention to.

It was about fifteen animals down the road did he decide that maybe he was just meant to help animals rather than just be an underground chemist with no regard to boundaries.

Which was probably why he was here, at the wealthiest man in the world’s party, trying to scout out the host of the party just to flirt his way upstairs. Not for inapt purposes, of course, but rather to see if it was true that the man had a pet lynx locked away.

Gellert Grindelwald was a very rich man, and his succession to fortune shown in his mansion. The ball room was extravagant, and Newt’s breath was taken away at the decor. If he was here for anything other than rescuing a creature, he’d allow himself to be dazzled by the beauty of the red velvet curtains and diamonds dotting the floors in a pattern that he couldn’t make out. 

Instead, he accepted a glass of white wine from a stiff-looking waitress and pretended to take sips out of it while searching fruitlessly for Mr. Grindelwald himself. 

Newton meagerly stepped around the dancing couples, careful to avoid getting bumped into or somehow dragged into dancing. He would surely die of embarrassment if he found himself in any position such as that. 

Dancing was intimate, and Newt didn’t do intimacy. Not that he hated it, he just couldn’t handle it. All of the talking, having someone brushing up against him, it made him want to curl on himself. 

However, if that’s what he needed to do to get to Mr. Grindelwald, he’ll deal with it.

“Excuse me, Sir,” The waitress from earlier startled him out of his internal thoughts. Newton snapped his eyes back to her, flushing a bit behind his glasses (fake, mind you) and hurried to push down the sweater he was wearing.

“Yes, Ma’am?”

“Do you need a new drink?” Her dark eyes glanced at his still-full cup, a thin brow being raised, “Is that one not to your satisfaction?”

“No, it’s alright, thank you, Miss...?” He trailed off, watching her gaze turn calculating before pushing a strand of short black hair behind her ear.

“Goldstein.” 

“Ah, yes, well, um...” He looked down at his glass, “It’s fine wine, thank you, Miss Goldstein. I’ll be alright.”

“And your name, Sir?” Goldstein didn’t seem like she was saying it out of sincere curiosity, but Newton wasn’t sure. He hasn’t talked to a person for a few weeks, he’s been too focused on practicing his flirting techniques with Pickett. 

“Um- Scamander. Newton. My name isn’t Scamander, but I-” He tripped over his words, feeling his face heat up at Goldstein’s clear look of confusion, “My name is Scamander, but not my first- It’s Newton. Newton Scamander. In that order. That’s my name.”

He wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

“Something tells me you weren’t invited into this event, Newton Scamander.” She said, looking slightly amused at his fumbling. Newt wondered if that was a good thing.

“Yeah, well,” He looked out to the dancing crowd, “The door wasn’t exactly locked.”

Goldstein laughed, catching him off guard. He snapped his eyes to her, trying to understand why she was laughing. Did he say something funny?

“You’re rather honest, aren’t you, Scamander?” Goldstein’s eyes strayed, glancing around them before seemingly locking on a person. Newt tried to follow her gaze, but he only saw a group of classy-looking men and women speaking amongst themselves.

“Yeah, um, I guess. When do you think the host will be out?” He asked quietly, forcing himself to look away and back around the crowd. Why do rich folk always take the longest to appear?

“Why? You plan to make a deal with him?” Goldstein prompted, back to her calculating manner. He just barely caught the tail end of a nod, but decided not to point it out because her attention was suddenly completely on him and he did _not_ like it one bit.

Newton knew of the various deals Grindelwald made. He was almost like the Rumpelstiltskin of the world, creating shady deals and always getting more than he would promise. Although, those deals were so exclusive that, apparently, the police don’t even know about them.

Which is possibly beneficial to Grindelwald, because Newt was sure there were more than enough illegal knots being formed.

“No.” He shook his head, staring down at his cup again and tried to focus on keeping his hands from shaking, “I came here to talk to him... civilly.” 

“Hm. Well, I ought to be gone,” Goldstein said suddenly, catching him off guard. He looked up, just in time to see a man with an extremely tight suit coming straight for them. There was a startling amount of anxiety forming in his chest with the way the man was looking at them- _looking at him._

“Wait, wait, um... how about I go with you? Yeah?” Newton tried, looking to where Goldstein was and made a small sound of surprise when he realized she already left.

“M-Miss Goldstein?” He tried again, shoulders dropping when he couldn’t find her anywhere, “Oh, _bugger.”_

“You sound particularly distressed.” A deeper, totally new voice, caught him off guard. He allowed himself a moment to breath before turning to face the man before him. He tried to not focus on how handsome the man was, tried not to notice his pretty eyes and sharp jawline. Or the way one of his eyebrows were slit, which gave him such a feral appearance and Newt realized how awful he had it for dangerous looking people.

“Oh, well, uh,” He tumbled over his words, trying to force something out that wouldn’t make him appear like a complete idiot.

The man didn’t seem to want to wait for his stuttering, “Care to dance?”

“What?” Newt’s eyes widened, “Oh- I couldn’t. I- uh- um...” He looked around, then down at his hands and quickly lifted his wine glass, “My drink.”

The man lifted a brow, snatching his glass out of his hand and pressed it to his lips, downing it fluidly before setting it down on the floor beside them and holding out a hand insistently. 

“Any other issues?” 

“Um...” Newt looked at the glass on the floor, suddenly concerned about it’s placement, “I don’t believe we should be leaving-”

Suddenly, a hand was gripping his wrist and he was being dragged out onto the ball room floor, “Come.”

Newt doesn’t even know this guy’s name and he’s already being manhandled. He stifled a sigh, instead allowing himself to be maneuvered into the man’s personal space and into some weird step pattern that he was sure was taught at whatever high-end school he went to.

“Um... Well, can I at least have your name?” He asked, trying to follow his lead.

“No.” The man’s eyes narrowed.

“No?” Newton furrowed his eyebrows and set his jaw, “Why not?”

“Because I’m not dancing with you just to create conversation.”

“Oh,” Newt felt himself growing slightly frustrated, “then I suppose it’s what? How pretty I look? To make someone jealous?”

The man stared at him, then glanced around the gathering and pulled Newt in closer, practically having their noses brush with each misstep Newt took (which was a lot of them).

“This is very intimate.” He whispered, very uncomfortable with how close they were.

“Yes, but it has to be done.” The man didn’t seem at all sympathetic to his shyness, “Grindelwald just walked in.”

“What?” Newton’s eyes shot up, “He did? Oh, Geez, please pardon me, Mister, um... Mister-secrecy, but I need to talk to him right now, and I-”

“The reason I needed to dance with _you_ is because he’ll recognize me if I don’t.”

“Well, excuse me, but I don’t care.” Newt’s patience was wearing thin. He needed to see if that Lynx was real. He didn’t care whether or not the man needed a shield to hide himself behind, “I need to talk to him. And I don’t see how dancing with me will help you any.”

“Because you’re clearly plain and an average-appearing man, so you won’t attract any attention. That is why I need you. Which is why we’re dancing so intimately.”

Newt felt his face turn bright red. _Plain and average_. He set his jaw, glaring to the best of his ability despite his humiliation, “I don’t even know you.”

The man’s face darkened dangerously, “But _I_ know _you.”_

“What?” Newton asked, his frustration washing away into a steadily increasing anxiety.

“Newton Scamander, Twenty-Seven, Chemist with a dangerous habit of creating new, toxic acids and notoriously known for keeping dangerous animals in his underground lab.” The man somehow became even more intimidating as the words went on, “And if you want to keep all of that information from the FBI’s database, I suggest you stay with me and follow my orders.”

Newt’s mouth opened and closed uselessly. He wasn’t sure what to say. FBI? This man worked for the FBI? He was being blackmailed. By a man who worked for the same people his brother did. 

 _Just my luck,_ He thought, finally shutting his mouth fully with the help of the man’s finger tucking under his chin.

“My name’s Percival Graves.” The man said finally, “And I think that makes us even on what we know about each other.”

“I- I assure you, Mister Graves, It doesn’t.”

He’s just glad that Percival doesn’t seem to know that he does a lot more than just create new acids.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep reading until the end i SWEAR its good

_“I- I assure you, Mister Graves, It doesn’t.”_

Working for the FBI had its… challenges. 

“Well, Mister Scamander, I insist that you learn to grow comfortable with what little you’ll learn of me.”

He did not expect his best friend’s  _brother_  to become one of those challenges.

Theseus Scamander did warn him playfully (let's emphasize the _playfully)_ that his younger brother may interfere with one of their missions, but he had not expected any of his open-ended omens to actually happen. Hell, from what he’s heard from Theseus, the man was content enough with his pests and happy enough making acidic concoction that would never leave his laboratory (or so Theseus promised).

“Well, if you _insist_  on making such a boon out of it all,” Percival could hear Newt’s voice straining as he spoke, “I must inform you I am here for more than just a night out.”

“I can imagine.” Percival hummed in agreement. If he was honest, he figured Newt was here to create some deal with Grindelwald. Perhaps asking for a bigger laboratory with more space for his pets.

Newt apparently wasn’t appreciative of his tone, because his face twitched in the same way his brother does whenever he gets reprimanded.

“There’s rumours of him owning a lynx.” Newt’s voice grew deathly quiet, which was a surprising sound from the man's usual shy voice, “I want to save it.”

“It’s legal to own that animal with a permit-” “Who _cares?”_ Newt’s voice grew sharp, “He’s not a nice man.”

And like his brother, Newt had a knack for ignoring the rules, apparently. But, he hoped the man could be reasoned with… usually people like Newt (soft, quiet, hesitant and shy) were reasonable.

 _Please let him be reasonable,_ Percival begged silently.

“Alright…” Percival took a shallow breath, hiding himself by pulling Newt right into his chest and bringing their faces closer, “I’ll make you a deal. You help me and tonight I’ll see if he has that lynx or not. Okay?”

Newt’s eyes downcasted, squirming a bit to try and duck his head away before clearly accepting his fate as a human shield and stilling. He gave a short nod that Percival was sure he would not have seen had they not been so close before mumbling a quick, “Okay. I’ll help.”

Percival exhaled, _A reasonable Scamander._

"Good." Percival focused his attention on Grindelwald, trying to take in everything about the man for an in-depth report. White tuxedo, a gray tie, and his hair looked like it was just freshly messed up. He tried looking deeper into detail, swinging himself and Newt just a bit closer, much to the awkward man's distain.

"Sorry," Scamander mumbled when he stepped on Percival's shoe for the seventh time.

"You can make it up to me by being _quiet..._ and possibly accepting Goldstein's wine." Percival said, ignoring the mixed look of offended and shocked Scamander gave him, "I think you need to relax a little-- _ouch."_

_My feet are going to need a doctor by the end of tonight._

_"Sorry--_ I don't drink and... how do you know Miss Goldstein? Did you meet her earlier?"

Percival tried not to roll his eyes, "We work together, Scamander."

Newt's eyes went downcast, "Oh. So... she didn't just want to talk to me?"

"I didn't consider you to be the type of man to care whether people spoke to you out of interest." Percival said simply, twirling them around and farther away from Grindelwald. He did not want to be noticed, or else the mission will become a complete failure. He just needs to have Gellert alone in a room, or somehow disguise himself to come closer. 

 _Perhaps I could use Newt,_ He considered, watching the man trip over his own feet and give a startled noise when he fell into Percival's chest. _No, definitely not._

"I guess you don't know as much about me as you thought." Scamander's english tone tipped in a certain way, and Percival had a hard time figuring out if he was teasing or if he was genuinely upset. Perhaps both, perhaps neither. Hell, he had a hard time understanding Theseus enough, he didn't know his younger brother's accent was going to be that much thicker.

"Then tell me about yourself." Percival said, stepping back to allow Newt the personal space. They were far enough from Grindelwald that he wasn't concerned anymore about being spotted. He tentatively tried to lead a simple, normal dance that he knows was taught at any and every school. He grew far too frustrated when he found out that Newt doesn't know it.

 _Of course he wouldn't know. Why would he know?_ Percival thought, _He's stuck underground all day._

"Um... well, you already know enough of me..." Newt clearly was trying his hardest though, watching Percival's feet as though he could match his steps magically if he just willed his brain enough, "Which is weird, by the way."

"I just knew you'd be at this party," Percival said, like a lair, "You're very predictable."

The man looked up in slight bemusement, "Am I?"

"Very much." He continued, because it was true. Newton Scamander was just a shy, social-less man who would rather spend time with flea-bitten creatures rather than people. 

Suddenly, Newt gave a ferocious yawn and quickly tore a hand away (with strength Percival was surprised to feel) to hide his mouth.

"I'm sorry," Newt rubbed his eyes clear of the water they started to form in a totally _not_ cute way, "I just- it's been a long night, I suppose."

The poor man clearly had no idea how well he was playing Percival's heart with the exhausted sigh he gave at the end. Percival actually felt  _bad_ for keeping Scamander with him now, because the man clearly was tired. Scamander tried to hide it as best as he could however, ducking his head and trying to put his hand back where it was on Percival's shoulder.

"My car," Percival said, and it was too late to go back now because the man had him under some spell of  _why is he so adorable all of a sudden?_ "It's got a blanket in there, if you'd like to sleep?"

"No," Newt shook his head, cheeks flushing, "I-I need to help. F-For the lynx."

 _The stutter,_ Percival swore he felt his chest tighten, _Just take my wallet and go buy a hotel room._

"I'll find out if he has a lynx either way, I promise," And he damn well meant it, "just go to sleep. You're a civilian, you shouldn't be doing missions... That's my fault, you'll be safer there anyway."

Newt's eyes sparked when they finally made eye contact for the first time, and Percival was instantly drawn to how blue they were. Why did Newt bother hiding them? They were clearly a wonderful feature. 

"T-Thank you, Mister Graves."

 _No, thank YOU, Mister ocean-blues,_ Percival thought.

So, Percival gave a quick signal to Goldstein that he was taking a short leave and lead Newt away. He wondered how on earth the guy ever survived on his own, or how he takes care of so many creatures. He looked so feeble and fragile now that he glanced him over.

 _He is certainly not the type to be doing undercover work like he was trying to!_ Percival thought. Newt must be trying something new. And he must really care about those animals to be doing this.

It was almost enough to impress him. Almost. While Graves did enjoy the slighter men, he just couldn't find himself ever taking a relationship serious if his partner couldn't hold themselves. Not that he would ever try to date Newt, because Theseus Scamander would certainly have his head on a sharp stick, but just... out of theory, he couldn't date Newt. Because the guy was clearly too gentle of a person to handle someone like him.

Although, it wasn't a crime to consider and watch as the man leaned against him, seemingly throwing away the fought-for personal space.

"That's your car?" Newt asked, voice taking on the weight of exhaustion when he and Percival finally approached his black porsche. 

"Yes, it is." Percival nodded, opening his passenger seat and allowed Newt to climb into it, "You can just recline the chair- I'll grab the blanket from the trunk."

"Okay." Newt yawned out, reclining the chair as Percival left to grab the blanket. 

This was a somewhat good decision, he hoped. The windows were tinted, so nobody could peer into his car and see Newt napping, and when he finished he could simply take Newt to his brother's complex. It was just a minor addition to the end of the mission, no biggie.

"Here," Percival hummed, bringing the blanket and allowed Newt to take it from him. Oddly, Newt didn't wrap it around himself, but instead opened it flat on his lap and looked up at him with those big eyes.

"W-What if someone comes and sees me?"

 _He's scared!_ Of course he is, He should have expected that!

"Nobody will bother you." Percival insisted.

"B-But W-What if t-they d-do?" Newt's voice was shaking more now, and Percival truly just wanted to relax the guy before he ended up stressing himself into a panic attack. Clearly, Newt is not meant for this line of work. He shouldn't have even thought of using the man as a shield.

"Um- Here," He dug into his pockets, pulling out his extra pair of handcuffs and offered them up, "If you need to, um... use this to..." 

Fuck, he didn't think this through.

That didn't seem to matter to Newt though, because his eyes lit up and he sat straighter, "H-How do they work?"

"What?" Percival asked incredulously.

_Who the fuck doesn't know how handcuffs work? How sheltered is this guy?_

"How do they work?" Newt repeated, "Can you show me on yourself? Then I'll go to sleep!"

"Okay..." He leaned over closer, just so that he was basically hovering over Newt's lap to show his wrist, "So, you push the metal part on and... it clicks open... and there, it's now locked on my wrist."

"Stunning." Newt said with a little too much enthusiasm.

Percival stifled an eyeroll. _Civilians._ "But, I'm sure you won't be needing this, because- _HEY!"_

And just like that, Percival's vision was skewed by his own blanket. Faster than he could comprehend, his whole body was shoved aside with a blanket wrapped around his head and he heard the click of the other end of the handcuff being locked onto something. He scrambled to use his hand to pull at the blanket, trying to tear it off his head.

"What the hell are you doing?" He snapped when the blanket wouldn't come off and he felt Newt climb out of the car.

"So sorry, Mister Graves," All evidence of that exhaustion was gone from his voice, "I just need a second alone with Grindelwald, I swear, and I'll come right back and undo everything!"

"NEWT! Undo this now!" He hissed in pain when he tried to pull his handcuffed wrist out of its uncomfortable position, jerking when he heard the locks on his own car sound off.

 _He has my car keys!_ Percival thought. When did he grab his car keys? How did he grab his car keys? What happened to the fragile man he was helping in his car?

"I really am sorry," Newt emphasized, as if that could free Percival from his position of being handcuffed in his own damn car, and shut the door.

He is going to kill Newton Scamander if it's the last thing he does. But first, he needs to figure out how Newt tied this blanket just so he can see what he's doing. If he hurries, he can possibly salvage this mission. 

Fuck, he can't believe how well Newt played him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey look u made it
> 
> comments are wonderful yall should leave one!! <3


	3. Chapter 3

Newton ducked back into the dance room, looking around rapidly to try and scout out Miss Goldstein before he got caught for tampering with an FBI agents mission. He still can't believe he got away with what he just did, how he cuffed Graves to his own car seat and tied a stringy blanket around his head.

 _I bet it was his first day on the job,_ Newt thought, _Theseus always mentions how newbies are idiots._

When he couldn't find Goldstein, he decided it was safe and made his way to where Grindelwald was. He knows it's terribly inconvenient, but he does need to talk to the man before Mister Graves does any more harm to his mission.

 _I don't feel bad about it anyway,_ He decided just as he scarcely made away from being pulled into a dance, _he was rude and kept looking at me like I grew a second head._

None of that mattered now. He was just a few crowds away from Grindelwald and that previous loss of anxiety was beginning to wear out. He didn't remember anything that Pickett told him! Did he look more attractive slouching or standing straight? Was his vest all crumpled from being man-handled? Did _that_ look attractive?

He looked over Grindelwald, noticing the finer touches of his white suit and shuddered when he realized Grindelwald was staring in his direction. He snapped his eyes back to the floor, embarrassed that he was almost caught staring at him. That, or he  _was_ caught and Mister Grindelwald was just a little better at pretending he wasn't staring at someone. Newt tried sneaking another glance in his general direction, just to see if Grindelwald was looking in his direction still.

 _Oh heck!_ Newt thought, feeling his cheeks light up and stiffened when he and Grindelwald made  _eye contact_ and he is  _making eye contact_ with the worlds richest man.

The worlds richest man who supposedly has a pet lynx.

Newt sucked up his heart-clenching fear and forced his legs to move him closer to Gellert. It was slightly thrilling to watch the man wave off the crowd of bachelors around him and stand up fluidly, strutting his way towards Newton.

This would be a considerably romantic moment if Newt wasn't feeling like his knees were going to buck out from under him.

 _Actually, no, this wouldn't be romantic at all,_ He decided, _it's missing flowers and those cute chocolates in the shape of hearts._

"Well, hello," Grindelwald was the first to speak, holding out a hand and eyeing Newt with open curiosity. 

Thankfully for him, he's seen at least twenty romance movies just to prepare for this moment. Newt lightly placed his hand on Grindelwald's outstretched one, giving a small smile and fluttering his lashes shyly, "Hello. You've got quite a lovely place around here."

"Oh, you don't look like the type to indulge in diamonds and silk." Grindelwald practically purred at him, and it took Newt a few moments to register that what he just said was actually a compliment and not an insult to his life choices.

Totally not a romantic moment.

Newt's cheeks were somehow burning even hotter than before when Gellert kissed the back of his hand. He chuckled nervously, shivering when he realized they were working with little-to-no personal space between the two.

"Oh, I've just... never met a man who's treated me right," Newt sighed as pitifully as he could, turning his head to stare out at the crowd with deceptive woes, "Perhaps I never will."

"Now," Grindelwald's voice pitched in barely concealed delight, drawing Newt's gaze back to him, "Isn't that a pity? Something so pretty should be taken care of."

 _So he_ is _the man to enjoy a nice sob story and a pretty face,_ Newton thought proudly.

"And who's going to do that, Mister Grindelwald?" He asked quietly, almost grinning when he saw Gellert leaning in closer just to hear him better, "Surely not a man who's riches only fester in the public's eye...?"

"In the publics eye..." Grindelwald echoed, eyebrows raising and back straightening.

"Oh yes," Newt laughed quietly, stepping back and pulling his hand out of the man's grasp, "You can't honestly expect me to believe your whole home looks as lavish as this, hm? Fancy velvet curtains, pretty diamonds..."

Newont wondered for a second if he should flirt more openly, but decided that with the way Gellert was staring at him that he didn't need to. The man was clearly already interested in this persona he created and took his comments as a challenge. 

"Of course I can!" Grindelwald flattened out the front of his suit, "Why, I'm of very high standard... Would you partake in a tour? Perhaps after a dance?"

Newt's perked up, purposely making eye contact with the man and smiled sweetly when he noticed the slight tension in his shoulders. It's the same exact way Mister Graves got when he looked at him completely for the first time, so he knew he must be producing the same effect on Gellert.

"I love to dance." He lied smoothly, offering his hand.

* * *

Tina Goldstein got the signal from her boss that he would be on a  _quick_ leave, not a twenty-minute one! 

She groaned loudly, startling a couple beside her into scrambling away. Good. She was tired of waiting on people and pretending to be a butler. Her feet hurt from the stupid heels she wore and she wanted to soak in a hot bath after she burnt the tight dress she was wearing. This was not (repeat, _NOT)_ what a spy should be wearing to a mission. 

She just can't understand why Percival won't let her off the leash and into real action! It's as if he doesn't trust her!

 _I am so trustworthy,_ She fumed inwardly, glaring around the ball room to try and scout out the man, _More trustworthy than him! He probably ditched and didn't tell me. Stupid, Self-centered, Egocentric- Is that Newt?_

She perked up from her inner monologue and hurried to pick her jaw off the floor when she realized that, yes, it was in fact the same stuttery mess of a man dancing with Gellert-fucking-Grindelwald. And he didn't look half bad at dancing either, unlike when he was dancing with Percival.

She wondered why Newt lacked posture and charm with Percival but clearly had it with Grindelwald.

 _Is he flirting with him?_ Tina asked herself silently, rolling her shoulders and narrowing her eyes. She could have sworn Newt said he wanted to talk, not flaunt himself about with a psychopath.

 _Now wait a second,_ she scanned the dance floor again, _wasn't Percival leaving with him? Why is Newt back but not Graves?_

She snapped her eyes back to Newt and Grindelwald just as they began fleeing the ball room and heading upstairs, out of her sight. This cannot be good.

* * *

"You are an extraordinary dancer," Newt praised, trying to silently catch his breath while Grindelwald lead him up the stairs. 

He hated dancing. He hated the spinning and how it made his legs feel numb. But, for the sake of trying to get onto Gellert's good side, he forced an excited pitch in his voice and tried his darnest to not trip over the stairs they were climbing.

"You're not so bad either," Grindelwald shot a mischievous glance backwards.

Newt forced a sugary laugh, "That felt like the peak of my night."

_Take the bait, take the bait, take the bait._

"Oh, darling, you've seen nothing."

Newt keened in genuine delight. Grindelwald was falling into his plan. Grindelwald lead him through hallways far from the dance floor, and Newt noticed that the lights seemed to grow dimmer the farther they strayed through the home. He followed behind closely, holding onto Grindelwald's arm for both show and fear of genuinely losing him if the halls got any darker.

"Are you going to show me a room of gold?" He asked teasingly.

Gellert turned to face him, "Is that what you want to see?"

"Goodness no!" Newt laughed, shaking his head and hiding his face into the man's arm to help hide his growing anxiety of the situation, "I'm not very interested in gold, Mister Grindelwald."

"Gellert," The man corrected with a hum of deep approval, possibly to Newt pressing closer to him. Truly, this man could not be more disgusting.

"If you don't wish to see riches," Gellert pondered openly, "I do wonder what would peak your interest..."

"Well..." Newt peeked up from the man's suit, hoping that he gave off he look of curious innocence, "do you have a cat? I am fond of animals."

"Animals." He echoed.

"They're absolutely marvelous," Newton continued, "Especially the bigger ones like tigers and wolves! Oh, but I've never gotten the chance to ever see one... Not a zoo close by where I live," He sighed pitifully, "but that's alright if you don't have a pet, I was just hoping-"

"Come with me." Gellert was pulling him a little more intently now, dragging him by the arm with an excitement in his body language, "I know something that will make your night."

 _Yes!_ Newt thought triumphantly, keeping up with the man and fighting the urge to exclaim in joy. He had to be calm, had to act like he didn't know what was going to happen. He needed to continue the persona he developed just for this moment.

He gifted Gellert with a shy smile when the man stopped at a door and looked at him expectantly, "Gellert?"

The man's eyes darkened, "I do like hearing you say my name. Come, you walk into the room first and tell me what you see."

 _This is it,_ Newt thought happily as he reached to open the door and strolled in casually, _This is where I see the lynx._

* * *

Okay, so, theoretically this was a possible fault in the mission that could detriment any of their chances of getting to Grindelwald. So what Tina Goldstein was doing was not, under logical analysis, worthy of being fired over.

If anything, this was just showing how good of an agent she was!

 _Yes,_ Tina confirmed to herself, _this is just showing my abilities. My caution. Percival always tells me to be cautious!_

So, snooping outside around the car that her boss owns was NOT strange. Nope. She just needed to find some type of hint that Percival may have left behind, something to show he was still _around._

She opened the trunk of his car pretty easily, it having already been left partially opened (weird). She tried snooping around the tools Percival had in the back of his car, pushing aside very dirty clothes (why do they smell suspiciously like the same cologne Theseus Scamander uses?) and groaned when she couldn't find a thing.

"Dammit!" She snapped, kicking the car wheel with her heel and jerked when the car heaved. 

She blinked a couple of times, because the last time she checked cars are suppose to be stronger than a women's swift kick. She tapped the wheel with her foot, frowning quizzically when it didn't give away under her pressure.

"Dumb car." Tina groaned, slamming the trunk close and began to storm back into the party. Of course there would be no clues there, because why would Percival Graves ever be a logical son-of-a--

Tina yelped when the car heaved again, followed by a strangled cry that definitely came from  _inside it._ She stayed frozen for a couple of moments, holding her breath in slight terror because Holy Fuck, the car's alive. And it's angry that she kicked it.

"Um..."

_"TINA!"_

She jerked to life at the sound of her name and rushed to open the passenger door. She yanked away as her boss rolled out from inside the car, one hand twisted awkwardly behind him while the other tore away a blanket that was around his head.

"Sir?" She exclaimed, feeling slightly useless as Percival ignored her and started yanking at what sounded like a cuff, "W-What are you doing out here?"

"That bastard! He pulled a fast one on me."

"Who?" Tina was prepared to deal with them personally. Nobody would make a fool out of her boss! And they must be cunning and dastardly, because Percival Graves was the most respected agent they had. He wasn't easily fooled.

Graves snarled the name, _"Newton."_

"Of course," She straightened her back seriously, "We'll get him sir-- _Wait,_ I'm sorry, _what?"_

"Newton Scamander, he-" Percival groaned when he uncuffed his wrist and finally stood up, "-tricked me. Little devil acted like he was about to sleep on his feet just to cuff me in my own car."

"The same Scamander inside?" Tina asked, a little thrown off, "Because, sir, I don't think he's capable of-"

"Miss Goldstein, there is a mission at stake!" Percival narrowed his eyes at her, looking absolutely livid with the situation, "The man's on a dangerous task of interacting with Gellert Grindelwald and we need to get in there before he gets anywhere with him. Have you seen him?"

The memory of watching Newt and Grindelwald go upstairs came floating back, and Tina silently wished she wrote her will prior to this investigation because Percival was certainly going to murder her.

"Y-Yes..."

His face toughened, "Where is he? I'll arrest him immediately."

"Um..." Tina rocked on her heels, "Well... he, err, went upstairs... with Grindelwald."

She gulped audibly at the look of fury her boss gave her.

* * *

The room wasn't as dark as the hallway, so Newt squinted when the new illumination caught him off guard. He blindly held onto the doorway, blinking his eyes a few time to adjust.

"It's... a bedroom." He concluded lamely, eyes fixating on a table with a lamp on it and a desk, "I see very nice furniture."

"You are a cheeky thing." Gellert sighed behind him, pushing Newt into the room. He took one sweep around the room, half-expecting to see a sign somewhere with _'Haha, Got you! I knew you were a phony'_ written on it. Instead, what he locked eyes with made him nearly pass out.

The monster behind Newt caught him just as he began swaying on his feet, wrapping his arms around his waist and pulled him close.

"Isn't it stunning?" He hushed into his ear, "Now you get to see all those large animals... at once."

He felt like he was going to throw up. The image before him was certainly not what he was expecting and he wanted to turn away from it and run back to his creatures for comfort. 

"It's... I'm speechless." He said, schooling his face into awe when Gellert twirled him around and pushed him back-first into something solid. With the way Gellert's hand disappeared for a second before a _click!_  he assumed he was against the door.

Not a position he wanted to be in.

In fact, now that he was flooded with horror and complete nausea, he could feel the beginning build of rage.

It was a miracle he could keep his facial expression stuck on 'awe' mode.

Gellert's face was dark with pleasure, "I knew you'd love it." 

Newt panicked for a moment when Gellert startled leaning in. He felt a slight puff of air against his neck and he worried that he as going to tear his throat out with his teeth. He wouldn't put it past him. But he took the moment to finally look at the  _horrible_ creation in the room and fought off his burning anger.

A creature in glass stood proudly on its hind legs, baring teeth that Newt knew were not from the same animal. The creature was composed of different animals (off the top of his head, he could list about six different pelts on it), all haphazardly stitched together to form one monstrous being that was shaped to be in a threatening position.

Newt tried looking closer, mocking soft moans to appease Grindelwald in his journey of giving disgusting hickeys. He searched for any sign of a lynx pelt, any show of that poor creature being used for this disgusting craftsmanship. 

"Pretty, are you enjoying the stuffed prize?” Gellert breathed hot against his neck, and Newt couldn't stop himself from whimpering at the feeling of cool on his skin. It made him loathe the man more.

"Yes," He gasped when Grindelwald flattened his body against him, "Just... surprised. I didn't- You don't strike me as..." He swallowed, ignoring his flood of distaste when Grindelwald growled against his neck, "an animal stuffing guy."

Gellert laughed, “How refreshing.”

He didn't want to figure out what about his statement was refreshing. 

Newt decided to take a daring leap, "Is... Is that a lynx pattern I see?" He offered a look of pure adoration when Gellert pulled back from his neck. Grindelwald seemed to ease back from lust drunk and turn pleasantly surprised again, offering a tip of his head to show his amusement.

"You've got a sharp eye, Pretty. Those glasses must help you a lot..."

Newt completely forgot he was wearing glasses. He tried hard not to let his panic show in his face, instead ducking his head and giving a shy laugh.

"I guess..."

"Yes, that is a lynx on there." Gellert confirmed, and it took every ounce of Newt's being not to launch an attack on him, "The leg was the only match we could find for the height."

He amputated the creature. 

Newt never understood what people meant when they say they 'saw red' but in that moment, he swore his vision got splotched with red spots. He reached his hand into his back pocket, ready to take out the acidic tablets he brought for the mission and...

It was all for nothing because the door behind him swung open with powerful momentum.

Newt and Grindelwald were on the floor faster than his hand could get into his pocket, which was probably a good thing, because if he cracked one of those tablets in his hand he would be in very big trouble. He rolled over, jerking to life and hurried to scramble backwards before he was caught in the line of fire. Although, what greeted him at the doorway of the bedroom was certainly worse than being attacked out-right.

"You..." Newt breathed, "...got out."

Percival Graves had locked eyes with him, fists shaking in his fury. Clearly, the man did not like being trapped in his own car.

And is that Miss Goldstein behind him?


End file.
